Does a landlord have to replace furniture from a bed bug problem?

Question

My daughter just moved to chicago and was there 3 days and started to get bites. They are saying it's her fault, she brought them there. She was living at home with her parents who have never had bugs. All her furniture was stored at home with us. We now have to get items cleaned and possiably throw out furniture.
Her mattress, pillows and chase lounge. Are they responsable for any of this?

Answer 1

bed bugs come from the inside of the matress and feed off dead skin cells. this is from her, not the new apt.

storing the items starved the bugs and it looks like they are now hungrier more than ever. normally they feed off the skin the falls into the matress, but at times they will come to the surface.

this is why you always change matress's every 5 years. the old saying "don't let the bed bugs bite" was from truth, not myth.

storing furniture, even in a house, just unused, will cause small bugs, spiders, etc to take up home.

Answer 2

Sorry, but it's virtually unheard of that the bedbugs were in the apartment. They tend to live in mattresses and hitchhike on humans and their luggage. The hotel industry is seeing a resurgence of them coming from Eastern Europe where they are an on-going problem. Due to the low dollar and opened borders in Eastern Europe, many more travelers from there are visiting the US and bringing a lot of bugs with them. An increase in US travelers to Eastern Europe, especially business travelers are also responsible for the influx.

While it can be a bugger to get them out of a mattress, a quick bug-bombing of an apartment will get any that may have made it to the carpets, etc. Bug bombing doesn't do a great job on mattresses because not enough insecticide gets into the mattress to do an effective job and you really don't want to be sleeping on a surface that's been soaked with poison anyway.

Infested mattresses and box spring units should be sanitized with heat to kill any that are in the furniture. There are companies that can do this, check your Yellow Pages or ask at any second-hand furniture store. Heat treating will also kill any dust mites that are in there -- and there are most likely a LOT of them hanging around.

Answer 3

I've actually seen a small claims court show that had almost the exact same situation, only it was with Mold (much harder to get rid of) and the landlord did have to pay up because it was a problem in the home that the landlord should've fixed (and he didn't tell the tenant about the problem). He had to pay for her furniture...although she did have proof that the furniture was perfect before from pictures of her with the furniture in the background and mold evidence in the home. But, if its really Bed Bugs your daughter should be fine, bed bugs are actually know for being really easy to get rid of, you just have to wash all blankets and pillows in hot water, vacuum everyday for a couple months including bed, clean with Hot soapy water the base boards of beds and headboard, also behind nearby pictures or even clocks. Good luck.

Answer 4

it may depend on local laws, but i would suspect it is your problem and not the landlords.

You will not need to throw the furniture out, just get it treated by the pest people.

Bugs are common, they are with us all the time, everyday, and in numbers you cannot really concieve of. They mostly live off our dead skin.

No matter how clean you are, everynight you go to sleep with millions of them.

You might find the change in climate or temperature is what has caused this. If there were eggs already in the mattress and new climate could speed up the process of hatching etc.

Answer 5

Depends on the local laws.

Its going to be MIGHTY hard to prove that the bugs were there before she got there.

I work in the hotel industry and bedbugs are our worst nightmare. They are impossible to kill. You have to throw out all the furniture, pictures, linens, towels, clothes, ETC. EVERYTHING. Its almost impossible to salvage anything. We strip carpets and padding, etc, before we bug bomb the room. Bed bugs are harder to kill than roaches and termites, in my experience.

Good luck convincing the landlord that it was a pre-existing condition. The only thing I can guess might help would be asking other tennants if they have bug issues, too.

Answer 6

It grew to become into clever of you to discard the affected furniture. Your landlord is slacking to postpone treating your house with insecticides. examine including your states' rules on the subject of your landlords' standard jobs. you would be waiting to break the hire and detect a extra constructive house with out bugs. i think of you would be out of success on the lost beds. Did you have your person renters' coverage? maximum insurances do no longer pay out for injury from computer virus infestations.

Answer 7

The owner is not responsible for your furniture; that what renter insurance is for. Tell your daughter to get renter insurance so she will be protected in the future.

Most people are not aware that if the roof leaks, the owner does not have to replace your furniture, All he/she is responsible for is the building structure, floors, walls, windows, fixture, etc.

The link below will help you find the right renter insurance for your daughter.

Answer 8

They SHOULD be, but I'm not entirely sure it's going to turn out to be blamed on them. Landlords aren't... the best people in the world. They love money, and they will argue you and insist that it's not their fault or problem at all. I'm sorry this had to happen to you and your daughter... However, good luck, and have a good upcoming weekend!

Answer 9

well tecnically yes he is responsible but it will be mighty hard to prove he is responsible for the bed bugs in court